Last for orthopedic shoes



QCf- 25, 1938 P. scHwENKl-:R 2,134,209 'fi' LAST FOR ORTHOPEDIC sH`oEs Filed Jan. 1a, 1954 I g sheetssheet 1.

y Oct. 25, 1938. P. scHwENKER 54 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 javali/01'. I Haie .d me J'ef A Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED STATESl PATENT oF-FIC.

Application January 18, 1934, Serial No. 707,137

' In Germany November 21, 1933 s claims. (ci. lz-is) This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in shoes, and more particularly in shoes of the orthopedic type.

I-Iitherto, orthopedic shoes are generally manufactured so as to comprise a device of special shape made up of metal or leather. 'Ihis device which is to be incorporated into the shoe, has a structure winch sometimes is absolutely rigid and sometimes pliable, but only with diiiiculty,

and which serves the purpose to support the arch or instep of what is known as fiat foot or the like, wherein the arch is broken down or defective. Whereas in shoes which do not belong to the orthopedic type, but which are' intended to take 5 the character of orthopedic ones, a device of the above mentioned special shape is used, the said device which is designed to be worn loosely in the shoe, being generally made up of steel, cork, rubber, or leather and having to serve as a support for the arch of the foot. Experience, however,

' has taught that none of these devices of special shape, or supporters, have given satisfaction for the reason that, the entire weight of the human body having to be supported by the held up arch, the foot joints are quasi condemned to immobility with the result that they will little by little lose their elasticity and in the course of time become lame. The said devices of special shape whose construction and placement in the shoe do not at all correspond with the scientific principles so necessary in this respect, are therefore incapable of preventing or correcting foot ailments, and it is a matter of fact that persons who have to wear shoes supplied with such supporters, do show a forced stiffness in their gait. and do lament.

I have found that, in order to maintain to the foot its elasticity, it will be as well of necessity to cause the walking foot to accomplish a natural rolling action, as of necessity to immobilize in their principal lever-positions the two largestsized bones, Viz. the heel-bone and the anklebone, which bones have to support nearly the entire weight of the human body. The heel-bone which has the shape of a one-armed lever, and does act as such, is influenced or acted upon by the ankle-bone so that on the `slightest pressure being by said ankle-bone exerted on said heelbone, the latter will immediately be forced downward and cause the -tarsus (navicular bone, cubcid bone, wedge bones, and metatarsal bones) to follow said downward movement. As a consequence, the arch of the foot which, owing to its most delicate structure, is unable to permanently withstand such a pressure exerted, will finally break down. Creation .of a special heel-seat or bed will, therefore, be of necessity,land one of the objects of the present invention is the provision of such a new bed. Besides, the cross-structure of the arch vault proper has to be discharged from the weight of the human body. I accomplish this by causing only bale and fifth metatarsal to con- 'tactwith the ground. In this respect, it is of importance that the tubercle of the fth metatarsal be rst acted upon in order to have the so-called rolling action of the foot effected, in succession, from the heel-bone over the fifth metatarsal to the big toe. Breaking down of the cross-structure of the arch vault has before all to be avoided,

' and for the attainment of -this end in view,` I

make use of a sole having special shape.

Now, the purpose of the invention is to provide f a special heel-seat or bed so as to obtain a perfect support at the heel, the said seat comprising for the heel a guide which occupies a forwardly, disposed position and slightly projects upwards; and comprising further, at the inner side of the shoe, a heel supporting member being increased in length, whereas at the outer side of the shoe, the heel guide has been made slightly shorter in length. Owing to this construction', the fifth metatarsal is compelled to act first, so that consequently a correct rolling action of the foot will take place. 'I'he sole is in its forward portion provided with deeply made depressions which correspond to the anteriorly disposed foot-pressure-points. Owing to this special and combined construction of heel-guide and sole, the arch and rst metatarsal will be greatly discharged. Breaking down of vthe arch and deformation of the shoe are, therefore, rendered absolutely impossible.

For further comprehension of the invention,l and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be hadto the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims more particularly set forth. In these drawings:

Fig.' 1 is a sectional elevation of a shoe manufactured in accordance with the invention,

- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a shoe of ordinary make,

Fig. 3 is a perspective vview of the sole,

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sections of the sole, respectively taken on line 4-4 and ,on line S--,S of Figure 3,

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through sole and heel,

Fig. 71s a cross-section taken on line 1-1 of Figure 8,

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of sole and heel, similar to Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view `of a last adapted for use in the manufacture of my improved orthopedic shoe, and

Figs. 10 to 12 are transverse sections, respectively taken on lines lli-I0, II-II, and I2-I2 of Figure 9.

Similar, letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.'

Referring to the drawings, the heel seat which is designated by the reference character a, is provided with a guide b for the heel, said guide being situated so as to occupy a forwardly vdisposed position, and being shaped so as to slightly project upwards. The guide b has for its oiiice to support the heel-bone c, and its structure is made so as to extend slightly higher up toward the innerside of the shoe, as clearly shown in Figure 5. In addition to this, the said guide or heel-guide is, at the inner side of the shoe, made to extend in forward direction beyond the front wall of the shoe heel, the purpose of said extension being to give a maximum of support to the heel of the foot. The outer side of the heel-guide is, unlike the inner one, made slightly shorter in length and of throughout uniform height and thickness, say about 9 millimeters. Tilting of the heel is rendered impossible by the tubercle of the heel-bone occupying the upright position. The heel member proper has to be attached to the shoe in such a manner that, at the begin of the arch, it cuts off with the end of said heel-bone.

In the forward portion of the sole, there are provided two trough-shaped depressions, as at d and e. The arrangement is made so that the joint of the fth metaarsal exactly fits into the depression d, and that the ball of the big toe fits into the other depression e. The foot, thus occupying a natural position within the shoe, is therefore prevented from wandering on the surface of the sole and, furthermore, formation of horny layers will be avoided.

The construction of the shoe parts hereinbefore described, corresponds to the anatomical structure of the human foot, the said structure teaching that the distance when 'measured from the root of the foot (heel-bone and ankle-bone) over navicular bone and wedge-bones to the first metatarsal, is considerably greater than the distance from heel-bone over cuboid` bone to the fifth metatarsal. The fact that the transverse axes within the shoe do occupy, respectively at the end of the heel-bone and at the two troughshaped depressions formed in the forward portion of the sole, inclined planes, is therefore of highest importance.

'I'he shoe manufactured in accordance with the present invention, avoids and lcorrects foot ailments and, as the weight of the human body tends to continually push or press in forward direction', a light gait results therefrom. 'I'he toes lie in a widely made space of. the shoe-tip and possess freedom of movement therein, so that persons who wear shoes of my improved make, no longer suffer fromV cold feet. The sole can be given its correct shape in any suitable way, hand or machine made, for instance according to a print to be taken from the foot in question, and in case of soles of vulcanized rubber being employed, shaping thereof may be effected in moulds and in one cast.

My improved orthopedic shoe is not only adapted for feet whose arch is broken down or defective, but it is also designed t0 Strengthen healthy feet and to prevent abnormal strains and stresses in the feet. In this respect, the fact is of importance that my new and improved orthopedic shoe, unlike ordinary shoes, shows as a novelty the subdivision. into three distinct sections, viz. a ball' section, an arch section, and.

a heel section, and owing to said subdivision, pressure on the joints, hitherto falsely charged or overcharged, will be entirely relieved. For the manufacture of my new orthopedic shoe, I make use of a last, whose structure is shown in Figures 9 to 12 of the accompanying drawings. 'I'he underface of said last is designated by the reference character g, which underface has for its oice to give the heel seat its form Unlike common construction, said underface has its structure made so as to be extended in forward direction. At the inner side of the last, that is to say about at the end of the heel-bone, said underface g is formed so as to extend higher up. At the tread place of the heel tubercle, the rearwardly situated ball surface g is made of arched shape, both sides of said arched portion being symmetrically formed. The unilateral projection, in accordance with Figure 2 of the drawings, therefore extends from rear to front gradually.

At the inner side of the last,the surface y extends in forward direction a more considerable amount than at the outer side o1' the last so that the heel guide of the sole on the inner side thereof, has to be supported by a special heel supporting means, reaching beyond the heel member of the shoe.

Underneath the forwardly situated ball surface, there are provided two bosses, as at h and i, which are in obliquely disposed, staggered relation to each other. Of the said bosses, the one h has to accomplish the formation of the ball depression for the big toe, and the other i has to accomplish the formation of the depression for the joint of the fifth metatarsal.

It will be observed that my new and improved orthopedic shoe manufactured according to the present invention, is of simplest make and shaped to the foot in accordance with the scientific principles, and that I do not make use of a device of special shape and of known kind, adapted to be either incorporated into the material of the shoe, or to be wornloosely in the shoe.

I claim:

1. A last for building a shoe thereon, and particularly the inner sole thereof, comprising, in combination, a level front portion, a substantially spherical heel portion rearwardly downwardly protruding from said level front portion and forming a firm heel bed for the heel of the foot, said heel portion being asymmetrically convexly extended in forward direction so as to form in the inner sole and in the shoe a heel guide which permits rolling action of the foot during walking without lateral slipping, a short shank portion descending, in the line of extension of the asymmetrical front of the heel portion, on the outside sooner than on the inside to the plane of the front portion, a forwardly extending concavity in the shank portion rising only slightly from the heel bed and descending steeply towards the front portion, the front and lateral edges of said concavity forming the inner edges of two elevations on the last, one of said elevations corresponding to the root of the :fifth metatarsal, and the other one corresponding farther in front. to the ball of. the great toe, said front portion being amply shaped in order to permit spreading of the transverse arch and attening andcurving of the longitudinal arch and curving of the toes during Walking in a shoe formed on said last.

2. A shoe last having a substantially flat bottom at the front, a convex heel at the back, said heel being of substantially symmetrical crosssection near the back Whereas to the front of said symmetrical section said convex heel depends further on the outer side of the last than on the inside thereof, thus yielding an asymmetrical convex cross-section, a convex arch portion interconnecting said heel and said substantially fiat bottom and merging with said heel at the asymmetrically convex front thereof, an outer ridge in said convex arch as a continuation of the depending front outer section of said heel and merging as a fth metatarsal further back with said substantially flat bottom than the rest of said l 3. A shoe last having a substantially level front portion, an elevated symmetrically convex heel portion in the back, and an arch curvedly connecting said portions with each other, a convex ridge extending at the outer side from said heel portion to said front portion and rendering the cross-section at the front of the heel and at the back of the arch asymmetrically convex, and a downwardly protruding convex ball portion at the inner front 'of said arch.

PAUL SCHWENKER. 

